


oleander

by minkyeungf



Series: eye of the hurricane ; dystopian au [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Ambiguous Relationships, Angst, Artificial Intelligence, Blood and Injury, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Like Heavy Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutant Powers, Original Character(s), Overuse of italics, Physical Abuse, Rating May Change, Spies & Secret Agents, Tags will be added and changed, Violence, dialogue and a LOT of feels, just me experimenting with powers mostly, random characters appear to carry the plot, sorry in advance, there's also, they aren't that important ngl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 19:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22202965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkyeungf/pseuds/minkyeungf
Summary: there are two types of beginnings.when we turn to the next chapter in the book of life with newfound hope for what's to come.and the start of a series of misfortune and misery. alternatively, the beginning of the end.it all started when a butterfly fluttered it's wings.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: eye of the hurricane ; dystopian au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598227
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. little pistol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title: little pistol - mother mother

\--

"where the fuck is lucas, ten?"

"can you calm down, kun? he's probably playing pubg with baekhyun in his man cave-"

"why did i buy him those expensive ass noise cancelling headphones?" he let out a deep exasperated sigh before continuing. "i thought i was smarter than to trust a manchild with running a billion dollar institution's entire firewall system."

"kun-"

"my seniors are going to kill me."

"kun."

"i'm going to get fired and die alone at forty."

_"qian kun."_

"that is, if an _IRIS_ blackop doesn't snipe my ass and bury me in the bottom of the atlantic ocean before then."

"i'd prefer a knife, actually, but thanks for the offer."

kun quickly shut his mouth, knowing the younger's capabilities and status in _IRIS_. definitely not because he needs a moment to process this conundrum. he needs ten to repeat what he already knows to ground himself. to not let everyone down. to not let 127 down.

 _to not let his friends down_.

no, it is certainly not this that makes him spiral into a pool of unanswerable 'what-if's.

"hey. breathe. calm down."

ten's gentle voice snaps him out of his thoughts, as he focused on the smaller, warm hand on his own cold and shaking one. he took a few deep breaths, stabilizing his ragged breathing as an appreciative smile broke out on his face. ten let out a breath that he was obviously holding, as if something as mundane as breathing would shatter the momentary serenity of the moment.

"thank you. and sorry about this."

"it's not your fault." ten rebutted before quickly continuing, "but we really need to move." he paused again before elaborating, "you find lucas. i'll get the rest of wayv. we'll meet up at the coordinates i sent you and enter to check for damages."

as soon as the water bender was about to leave, kun stood up, composing himself.

"stay safe, ten."

"you too, kun."

with a final goodbye, ten bolted out of the gate.

he didn't want time to catch up on him.

\--

if he wasn't earlier, lucas was definitely awake now. there was a feeling of dread pooling up in his gut as fear washed over his body like ocean waves during a hurricane. as if to emphasize it, he felt his throat restricting, a sensation similar to drowning. he knew something was wrong as soon as he looked at the fluorescent, mint-tinted screen that occasionally flashed bright red.

the shock that spread through his body made him dizzy. even so, he was able to reach a general consensus of what might be happening beyond his gate.

the firewall was breached.  
he has no control over krystal anymore.  
sector 127 was attacked and taeyong wasn't responding.  
all of the 127 members were untrackable.  
and what hurt the most:

_i could've prevented this. it's my fault._

the heavy metal gate slid, releasing a short whirring sound as the clicking of combat boots alerted him of someone's presence.

"lucas, what the fuck did you do?" an angry voice demanded, causing xuxi's stomach to churn uncomfortably.

kun. wayv's leader. the guy that is going to kick my ass to the brink of death. and pathetically enough, he has every right to do so.

"i screwed up." lucas' voice was deeper than usual, as well as raspy from all the crying.

"what happened? why are none of our touch pads working? what about our microphones? or should i summarize this for you? why the fuck is krystal inactive, huang?" kun could feel the anger physically, as he clenched his fists wanting nothing more than to punch the douche that almost got the entire floor killed.

"krystal was hacked." his voice was shaky, the tears threatening to spill.

"excuse me." the elder knew he was being harsh, his brain to mouth filter practically inexistent at this point.

"krystal was hacked and it was all my fault." his voice broke by the end as he coughed his lungs out. tears probably 4, lucas 0, he thought.

kun knew he was going overboard. when he saw lucas' eyes brimming with unshed tears trying to stay strong, he was sure of it. while he knew he should stop and not dwell on the past, he needed to get the frustration out of his system even if it meant his teammate and friend would be on the receiving end of it all. so he continued belittling him and blaming him for everything, reducing the younger to a sobbing mess.

"you don't even deserve to be on the team. hell, no one would miss you if-"

lucas fell to the ground, his knees hitting the old creaky wood with a bang.  
kun slapped a hand over his mouth, fully understanding the connotations of what he had just implied. regret slapped him in the face. or was it just the angry looking yangyang standing in front of him, as if to shield the crying lucas from their leader. from a monster. he couldn't really tell, but it was self to assume it was the former. it all became a blur from there. all he could decipher was deranged shouting, loud sobs and a few calming whispers. his head was pounding, filled with conflicting emotions. mostly regret. and emptiness. and woah, a ton of guilt. all of these feelings that he wasn't used to, was taught that they weren't needed as they would make his job as an agent much more difficult. and damn they were right. the higher-ups were definitely spot on.

"kun."

it seemed as just a few seconds had passed, as he turned around, xiaojun coming into view. he only made a questioning noise- a grunt, too emotionally drained and detached to strike up friendly conversation with the blonde.

"everyone left. they're off to sector 127. we need to get back on track."

the leader's expression remained blank. xiaojun just continued, barely minding the shift in mood. one second it was pure chaos, the next it was a loud silence, tension that you could cut with a knife.

the shadow bender sighed before continuing, "what is your next move?"

"i'm staying here. you can work this out on your own." and with that, kun ran. running from the problems his feelings had caused.

\--

xiaojun looked over the rubble, trying to make sense of the events that transpired. the entire sector and the surrounding halls were destroyed, the building's facade crumbling down around him. the ceiling had fallen through, as well as some of the pillars holding it up. tech equipment, ai, cooling tubes, neon minty liquid and other miscellaneous bits were strewn across the cement blocks covered in a dusty overcoat. jumping onto a bigger piece of what used to be the ceiling, he looked over scanning for familiar faces. and once he saw figures his eyes lit up. they were going to be okay.

_oh, how he was wrong. oh, how hope was futile._

\--

" _shit_."

was the only word that came out of his mouth as he witnessed a scene that was beyond his worst nightmares.

he could only curse out as he thought of how the villains wiped themselves off the face of the earth, just as they left their mark. it was twisted, obscene and just plain foul the way they played their cards.  
no one was hurt severely. except one. just enough for it to hurt. too much to sting, too little to amputate. and it hurt like hell to see this intentionally gruesome scene as it played out. as if they were taunting them with what they could do to IRIS through an example.

an unresponsive mark, surrounded by what seemed to be his own blood, the crimson liquid soaking into donghyuck's tattered clothes as he sat there. still, unmoving. like a käthe kollwitz painting. like he still couldn't fathom what transpired. like his emotions have left his frail body and this i what was left. hollow. a sickly sight that you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemies.

that's when they all realised.

they're just pawns of someone else's chess board.

.

" _who did you dispose of?"_

_"a 127 agent, i believe. super speed."_

_a distorted chuckle._

_"i hope my acknowledgement is sufficient. for what you have done, you shall pay the price yourself. tick tock, goes the clock!"_

_the early bird doesn't always get the worm._

_oh, how the end is near._


	2. o, my ♡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title : o, my heart - mother mother
> 
> tw// blood and gore (in the beginning w italics)

_ "ten, what did you do?" _

_ his cousin could only stare, horrified of the crimson liquid adorning the silk sheets, dripping onto the wood floor. two bodies, burned to an unidentifiable state. and her own mother, hung from a plethora of ice glaciers, almost serene compared to the rest of the incredulous crime scene.  _

_ except for the fact that they stabbed through almost every inch of her motionless body. _

_ - _

"fuck you, mark lee." , a disheveled donghyuck spat.

he didn't actually mean it, per say, seeing as snot and tears were dripping on mark's bed, yet he couldn't help but criticize him, ultimately a meaningless insult directed more towards the unknown intruders than his best friend. 

what he wouldn't ever do though, subconsciously or not, is actually admit crying, knowing the older would definitely tease him if he found out. 

_ yeah, definitely. _

after all, he had promised not to worry about his best friend years ago.

_ "huh?" , donghyuck dumbly said. _

_ "promise me that you wouldn't be sad if something were to happen to me."  _

_ mark repeated calmly, as if he hadn't made an unfulfillable request to his best friend. _

_ "min, you're an idiot-" hyuck was cut off before he could even try reasoning. _

_ mark scrunched his nose from the old nickname, before continuing, "please. i can't have that on my conscience." _

_ silence and a disbelieving snort. _

_ "yeah, okay, sure. idiot." _

_ "hyuck!", mark whined, "you're supposed to promise me!" _

_ "i promise, drama queen.", he replied with a fitting eye roll, "now, stop being serious and shit, you're messing with my vibe." _

_ wow,  _ he regretted listening to that dumbass now.

mostly because, while the light manipulator was reminiscing of  _ 'markhyuck's less-than-fun past', _ he couldn't help but notice the gentle hand that fell on his shoulder. 

"hyuck, are you crying?" - mark said with a concerned tone, finally startling the visibly shaken boy from his thoughts. 

he looked up at his " _ best friend since diapers _ " and soon, a new wave of glimmering tears fell to the plain white bed cover, as a borderline scared mark, frozen in his tracks, stared on. at this point, mark was lost. he was never good with emotions to being with. it tore him up when he saw hyuck cry, knowing what he  _ wanted _ to say, but not knowing  _ how. _ it was his downfall, in a way. sadly, he only remembered this after he said the  _ stupidest _ words he could've thought of, even surprising himself from their idiocy:

"stop crying for no reason, hyuck. i'm fine."

now, he was mad.  _ fair.  _ anyone would be mad if they got beaten to the brink of death by some trashy underground gang, covered with what correspondingly seemed like black pvc garbage bags. but taking that anger and directing it towards his too-good-for-the-world  _ best friend _ whose secret agent alias was literally  _ full sun -  _ not a great look for him. 

"i- mark i'm sorry. i broke our promise and probably made you uncomfortable,  _ shit. _ " - he avoided mark's eyes, looking at the chipped blank wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. he was shaking and looked downright  _ heartbroken. _ did that make mark sober up and take responsibility in calming him down?  _ nope.  _

he just made a subtle noise of confirmation, alternatively an ugly-sounding grunt of mock disbelief. if he was surprised before, now he was downright shocked.  _ what the fuck was he doing? _

"you're giving the enemy what they want."

but, for some god forsaken reason, he didn't  _ stop _ when he crossed not just the line, but the  _ entire border _ .

"they  _ feed  _ on grief. that is why i told you what i did - we're secret agents, for fuck's sake! before our friendship, we have a  _ job _ . above all else, we're IRIS agents, stone-cold and down to earth. and they need to take us seriously. you're  _ ruining your _ credibility by acting like i can't take care of myself. go act in a soap opera, you'll be good at it,  _ haechan _ ."

he didn't know why he decided to yell or be generally condescending but by the end of his senseless rant, he felt like  _ shit.  _ but before he could even begin to retract his statements, hyuck was gone.

.

"john, enlighten me on how you're this calm right now." ten's tone got louder at the end, changing the pitch of his voice.

his best friend had the nerve to  _ snort _ at him, making him even more upset. he landed a weak punch on his arm, making johnny laugh even more.

"am i a joke to you, whore?" 

"you- you sound like an angry anime love interest." johnny jokingly said, doubling down laughing from the mental image.

"i despise you. you deserve 0 rights."

"love you too, ten!"

"friendship card, revoked." ten pouted, starting to walk faster.

"i know you love me!"

while poking fun at his cat-like bestie was peak entertainment, he had to back down when he saw haechan sitting backed against the corridor's wall, doing something that looked suspiciously similar to crying.

ten took a few steps back and leaned against the taller, a scared expression adorning his face.

"we should talk to him. wait no, actually you talk to him." he gave johnny a friendly pat on his back.  _ well, more like a friendly slap across his back but let's not get into the details. _

johnny gave him a pointed look. he replied with a simple shrug.

"what can i say, i hate confrontation." ten said, turning around and leaving with a fox's grin, but not before a quick 'good luck, johnny!'

he scoffed, still smiling, as he walked over to the younger.

.

_ it isn't the best idea to be crying in the middle of an open corridor _ , hyuck thought as he sobbed on the cold metal floor with his back turned to the even colder wall.

his fears proved to be true as just a few minutes after he had "hidden away" in the very noticable, huge path connecting the 127 and wayv branches, he felt a gentle nudge.

"hey hyuck. you okay, bud?"

he immediately recognized the voice.  _ fuck, there's no way johnny would let this go.  _ realizing this, hyuck did the only logical thing he could think of.

"i'm fine, don't worry about it." he let out the fakest laugh he could conjure up, which was abruptly stopped by a sniffle. johnny just raised his eyebrow in return.

"you sure? doesn't really seem like it." 

"uhh, yeah." he really wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible. he was not going to get embarrassed in front of his mentor, especially during the rookie practice period of his recruitment to 127.

"if you say so, haechan." johnny started standing up. hyuck immediately grabbed his ripped up sleeve, kind of harshly.  _ i should apologize later,  _ hyuck noted.

"actually, can you stay? i changed my mind." hyuck said, avoiding john's eyes. he honestly had the delusional thought that the taller would just tug his hand away and leave him alone in his misery, but he was the furthest away from the truth. instead, the agent sat down next to hyuck, gently putting his hand over his shoulders.

"can we- just not talk about this whole thing?" hyuck carefully asked. he was trying to tiptoe along the whole  _ i was crying in a hallway 5 minutes ago  _ fiasco, hoping the other would just magically forget about everything. or get amnesia or something.

"got it." johnny surprisingly agreed, not pushing the subject further. he just wanted to calm haechan down, the world could wait for now. 

_ he'd get his answers sooner or later anyway. _

_ they all will. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey i'm adding this endnote from the future woo as i'm writing chpt. 3 !  
> if u thought this was a weird storytelling technique, next chapter is gonna be a ride and a half ! (i'm joking it's going to make more sense as i'm finally contextualizing chapter 1 and worldbuilding ensues!


	3. butterfly effect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title: butterfly - loona

when talking about IRIS to a civilian or a time traveler from the 21st century, there are a few things to note. 

firstly, it's a lost cause trying to elaborate the inner workings of a private sector spy organization that houses runaway vigilantes, high-profile cult organization escapees seeking for a redemption arc and an aspiring anti-hero here or there, with a puzzling backstory waiting to be unveiled. 

secondly, you can't. as with any concealed sequestered organization that can't be viewed on a map app, even uttering a word about a confidential IRIS affair could get you anything ranging from a slap on the wrist to being deemed a public threat, leading to ostracization or a life long vacation on a cast off island in the middle of the Pacific.

thirdly, and most importantly,  _ the walls are thin.  _

while this statement might be contradictory, i assure you it is nothing more than a  _ mere _ paradox. 

moreover, to save you the trouble, today we are only viewing this assertion from a literal sense.

the walls are thin from a construction standpoint. very ironic considering we're talking about a high profile task force facility. nonetheless, it serves as a great catalyst. 

introducing the butterfly effect.

//

  
  


_ repetitive clicking sounds were the only thing that separated the small, dimly-lit room from the almost deafening silence that surrounded it. flashing fluorescent lights shone light across the basement's entirety, revealing the tall figure that stood in front of their source. this "basement dweller" as his co-workers put it, is huang xuxi better known by his alias, lucas. although this individual is a world-class whitehood hacker and IRIS's pride and joy, beyond company walls, he is simply referred to as "the endearing slob".  _

_ "leon, get off my goddamn keyboard!" - lucas' loud voice broke through the melancholic silence of the hall. _

_ his frustration was evident as his yelling dissolved from mild anger to exasperated acceptance as he took in his current situation. his amazing, beautiful, gorgeous cat that he loved with his entire heart was betraying him. for the third time this week. maybe it was because he forgot to feed leon or himself in days, running only on a cup of the six-shot demon juice that jaemin calls "good coffee". he let out a borderline dramatic sigh as he flopped onto his beanbag couch staring at tong with a disapproving expression laced with overwhelming tiredness. he ran a hand through his normally fluffy, styled hair feeling nothing but a shadow of what could've been. he looked over at his surroundings, blinking a few times in hopes of getting rid of the incoming headache caused by endless hours in front of neon blue panels. what he saw didn't help. his sweaty tank tops were thrown all over the ground, sprinkled with the occasional pair of mismatched socks that made the basement's floor look like a really sad, melted cupcake of stench. a forced chuckle left his lips. because of the room's hideous state, he wouldn't be too surprised if he found a dead rat under all that crinkled cheetos packaging mixed with a few red bulls that he chugged last night in hopes of finishing another one of his repetitive assignments. a dry sob ripped itself out of the confines of xuxi's throat leaving an echo in it's wake. what he couldn't see from his bleary eyes was leon climbing over his lap. he gently rubbed leon's soft fur against his hand as if the cat knew of his distress. he wouldn't be surprised if he did - this isn't their first time on this rodeo. he gave his cat a tiny smile. _

_ "i wish i were a cat sometimes. i want to be able to understand your ability to sense sadness. and also yell at you about how big of an attention whore you are, you selfish bitch." lucas said with a sassy smile on his once sad face, "you my friend, are stressing me out in my hacker zone. a bro needs his cash. especially because you're an entitled brat and want the most expensive cat food that i physically can't afford. especially not with my IRIS paycheck." _

_ he relaxed, a new wave of drowsiness washing over him as he buried himself into his old, stained beanbag. he finally allowed his eyes to flutter shut. _

_ "power off, krystal." _

_ "on it boss." _

_ silence. _

_ and then, from the vast darkness echoed. _

_ "code red. i repeat, code red. there has been a breach in sector 127, task division. lee taeyong, report your status immediately."  _

_//_

  
  


the door cracked open with a shrill creak, a sign of it's age and considering that it remains as the only wooden door in the entirety of the wayv branch, the solid cherry wood door aged quite well.  _ the wisdom it must hold. _

emerging from the light, a dark figure approaches, slipping through the door into the dimly lit room. 

lucas looked up to assess the identity of the person who dared to snap him out of the mental breakdown haechan's cries lead him to. not that he was blaming haechan for his prolonged panic attack, his idiocy is his and his alone. but the sobbing upstairs was a real punch in the gut, apologies already blooming in his throat, begging to be set free.

luckily for him, his savior from a premature middle-age crisis was none other than one of his most trusted teammates, ten lee. what a guy, honestly. a high-level spy, trained in hand-to-hand combat and the best sword wielder IRIS has to offer. his back emitted a glow under the faint lighting of the underground unit, unique to ten's signature one-sided sword. a damascus steel blade, something between a chinese  _ dao _ and an italian  _ falchion _ with an intricate pattern etched into the handle, proof of it's one of a kind nature. for some people, it's the last thing they ever see. so, ten bringing it with him to the closest thing to a comfort spot wayv has to offer was immediately a red flag. 

the second, and far more obvious one to the untrained eye, were the tear tracks on ten's cheeks. xuxi was almost startled by the sight. in all their years of being practically attached to the hip, from wayv's first official mission as a spy assembly, take off in ukraine, to the latest mission as the black ops squadron, superm, the agent had never  _ seen _ ten cry. 

"ten, babe, you okay?" xuxi asked, a concerned tone poking through the innocent sounding question.

"yeah, i guess." he smiled at the pet name before sniffling, "i wanted to check on you but i just." he paused, seemingly to arrange his thoughts and blink away the tears that threatened to fall;

"i remembered something from my past. not good. i don't know what triggered it but yeah. definitely not good." 

xuxi frowned. ten's past was well, for a lack of better words, to be left in the past, the explanation being that it was dehumanizing and talking about it to someone that isn't a mental health professional within the walls of IRIS was absolutely terrifying to him. so, everyone knew it was best to leave it alone along with other touchy subjects. and there are a lot of them in IRIS, enough to fill a binder. 

from renjun's witch origins theory, stemming from his elegant silver full finger ring to irene and seulgi's mysterious blood bag stash in the freezer to chanyeol's teddy bear with a burn mark where it's right eye was at some point, all the way up to yangyang's peculiar connections with underground racers and gang members, the majority of IRIS' agents carry some kind of emotional baggage wrapped in a little box with a sparkly bow and a hypothetical  _ keep out _ sign. 

and by the time xuxi's mind finished it's tangent, ten was in his arms, trying to hide the broken sobs the taller's sudden gesture brought on. 

"you can cry." and so, he did. 

xuxi's inner monologues and his own looming dread could wait, he has a different priority right now. 

_ family comes first. _ and for xuxi, everything came second after wayv.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who wrote a new chapter and actually contextualized the first two chapters because i got over my writers block. this is my favorite chapter so far, give her some love please! sorry for the wait ♡

**Author's Note:**

> work title: oleander - mother mother


End file.
